A group of friends and I dined at Belluci’s Manuka for a birthday dinner. The inside of Belluci’s Manuka is relatively new and fitted out quite nicely. Belluci’s serve nice Italian food but I’ve had so many bad experiences with the chain (there’s another Belluci’s restaurant in Phillip). I’ve found the wait time is ridiculous – over an hour on a busy Fri/Sat night is fine. But over an hour when there are only 5 tables of diners for a weekday lunch? That’s bad.
Truthfully, I find it’s hit and miss and would rather avoid it and head somewhere else.
In saying that, the set menu ($60) at Belluci’s Manuka didn’t take too long to come out.
A few snapshots of the food:
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| Pork belly |
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| Risotto di pesce |
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| Rotolo |
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| Pollo cacciatore |
In summary, the fish risotto was excellent and so fresh with great flavour. I’d order that again. The freshly made rotolo filled with caramelised pumpkin, fetta and pine nuts was also impressive and done well. Both the pork belly and the chicken dish were pretty average.
This place is always packed on a Friday/Saturday night. Not the first restaurant I’d pick for Italian food though.
